Spring and Fall Clean-up

Spring and Fall clean ups should be a part of every property owners regular maintenance plan. It is the type of work that many home owners can complete in their own time frame. For many, "time" is a limited commodity.

Clean up consists of raking leaves and hand picking leaves from shrubs. We use rakes, and an assortment of different size leaf power blowers. There has been much discussion and some legislation about the use of power blowers lately. Power blowers reduce the amount of time a crew will take to complete a clean up work task. Time will determine the cost of the work task at hand. If you wish to request a Quiet Clean-up, we will be happy to accommodate. Debris is collected, corralled and put on a tarp. Debris can be moved to a compost area on your property, loaded on a truck with a truck loader which is a big vacuum, or wet debris can be loaded with a small front end loader.

October and November most of the leaves are down and you have a better chance that they will be dry. The truck loaders make fast work on corralled leaf piles if they are dry. April-May most leaves are wet and heavy. If you clean up in the Fall your Spring clean up will take a lot less time. If you do not clean up in the Fall, a Spring Clean up will probably cost more than a combined Fall and Spring Clean up. Spring and Fall Clean up will vary in time to complete on the same property each year due to different weather conditions.

Some clients will choose to get the leaves corralled themselves. The leaf piles need to be in a spot on your property that a 1-ton truck can back up to the pile. Individual property dump sites can be pushed back into the woods for more room. We can remove debris from such dump sites or compost piles that have gotten too big. We compost all debris generated by clean up tasks and use the compost for planting.

Mockingbird Hill believes in using all possible debris from work tasks for composting. Wood chips are spread in our wood processing areas. With time the chips break down and need to be replaced. The partially broken down wood chips are placed in a large pile. There is always a space made in the pile so when a truck comes in with weeding and edging or Spring or Fall clean up debris there is a place to dump. New debris are mixed with a large Front End Loader and covered so the break down process can begin. This aerates the pile and creates a new dump spot in the pile. The pile is screened to ¾" and creates a humus material rich in organic matter which we use for planting and transplanting. We have a pile of humus screened to ¼" which we are using in our green house as potting soil. Compost energizes the soil food web, which is made up of microscopic bacteria and fungi, along with earthworms, crickets, and many other life forms. Many fungi form symbiotic, or mutually rewarding, partnerships with plant roots, making it possible for plants to feed themselves more efficiently. Research shows that compost enhances the ability of tomatoes and other vegetables to stand up to common diseases and may improve their flavor and nutrition, too. Compost also helps the soil retain moisture. Through using composting we enhance your garden's ability to grow healthy plants.